A CANADIAN-American motivational public speaker and self-development author, Brian Tracy, once declared,” Leaders think and talk about the solution, while followers think and talk about the problems”.

Yes, it is the right of the people to think and talk about problems they are facing at a particular point in time, especially problems that directly affect their existence and survival as a people; issues of paramount importance and urgency.

Unfortunately, many people in various political climes have expressed their concerns about those issues continually without corresponding response nor empathy from their leaders in government. They have endlessly raised their voices and chorused in despair to no avail; no one was listening and telling them anything. They later became perplexed and frustrated to the point of loosing hope in their governments.

It is indeed a different and sheering story in Ogun State under the leadership of Prince Dapo Abiodun, who in principle had vowed upon his assumption of office to do everything humanly possible to meet the yawning of his people and change the old order of deceptive governance that characterised successive administrations in the state.

It is more than being a governor of a state in Nigeria to willingly taking over the obligation of the Federal Government in order to ameliorate the precarious situation of the people. This is without doubt a reflection of responsive and responsible leadership, the one that is really rare in this part of the world.

Governor Abiodun, since the inception of his administration, has consistently reiterated his resolve to be at the fore-front, leading his people with vision and at the back defending them with courage passionately without blemish.

The governor, in his usual character displayed this enviable passion for humanity again and set aside protocol for the superior interests of the people of Ogun State and Southern Nigeria in general when he immediately ordered palliative work to put the failed portion of Sagamu-Ore-Benin Expressway in good condition to make it passable.

This is the road under the purview of the Federal Government but remains terrible and a night mare for travelers for years without any intervention from the Federal Government despite the significance of the road as it connects the South West Geo-political zone to the South South and South East of Nigeria.

More importantly, the deplorable condition of the road over time had been responsible for constant traffic logjam which unfortunately had resulted to loss of lives and wanton destruction of properties worth billions of naira.

The governor, on Sunday paid an unscheduled visit to the bad portion of the road and mentioned that although the reconstruction of the road was awarded by previous administrations, the contractors executed the project from the Benin end to the outskirts of Ijebu-Ode but could not complete it at the interchange before abandoning it due to lack of funds.

According to the Governor, “This is a federal road, and it is probably the most important road to Southern Nigeria because it is the only route to transport goods and people from Lagos to Ogun State and to the South-East and South-South parts of the country. So, it is a major arterial road.

“The reconstruction of this road was awarded several years ago by previous administrations. However, that reconstruction started from the Benin end of this road.

“Sadly, from what we have been told, the budget was not sufficient to allow for the completion of this road to the Sagamu Interchange. It stopped short of reaching Ijebu-Ode, somewhere around the outskirts of Ijebu-Ode.

“What we are seeing today is what our masses are suffering from. In the last three to four days, this road was totally impassable because, for some reason, there is a drainage that goes underneath this road that is meant to drain water coming from a canal. That drainage is completely blocked, and that is the cause of this problem.”

Governor Abiodun added that officials from the state Ministries of Works and Environment are currently working to create another drainage that would channel water away from the road, while the bad portion has been filled with hardcore to make the road motorable.

He disclosed that he has brought the condition of the road to the attention of the Minister of Works, who has promised to look into how to award a contract for its rehabilitation or at least provide palliative measures or some sort of intervention to salvage the situation.

“Let me confirm to you that last week Thursday, I also brought the issue of this road to the attention of Mr. President. For the avoidance of doubt, let nobody think that Ogun State has not been responsive.

“Knowing fully well that the Federal Government has many critical roads to deal with, and as a responsive state government, we deployed our Ministries of Works and Environment to this site. What they have done is identify the immediate cause; they found out there is a construction that has blocked the drain.

“I have requested from Mr. President that the Ministry of Works can immediately award this road to a reputable contractor, and I know they are working on it.

“However, Mr. President has also instructed me that if we do not get the attention as quickly as we want, the Ogun State government should go ahead and take ownership of this section and repair it.”

Governor Abiodun further stated that if in the next two days there is no clear evidence coming from the Federal Government to commence serious reconstruction work, his administration would step in to take ownership of the section of the road and carry out a total reconstruction. How else can one depict this gesture of a governor than a sensitive and responsible leader with proactive inclination to put people first before protocol of any type.

This is not the first time Prince Abiodun would be taking over the responsibility of the Federal Government purposely to please his people. He recently did the same at Laderin Train Station as he took it upon himself to complete the construction of access road to the train station.

Governor Abiodun, who decried the idea by the Federal Government to conceptualise and build the train station without an access road, said that his administration, upon the construction of a world-class airport at Ilishan, deemed it fit to open up a new access road directly from the Sagamu-Benin Expressway, even as the Ilishan and Iperu roads still exist.

He said: “We don’t understand why a train station is built without an access road as part of that project conception. Today, we have built a world-class airport in Remo; can you imagine that we built that airport without considering the access road to that airport?

“There are other existing roads to that airport. However, we have begun the construction of an access road that tees off the Sagamu-Benin Expressway. If you are coming to that airport, you don’t need to go through Ilisan or Iperu; you make a left turn straight to the airport. This is what a project from inception should look like.

“In this instance, this train station was conceived, built, and completed without an access road being part of the project. “As a responsible governor and government, we have taken it upon ourselves to award the contract for the road leading to that train station, and that contract is currently ongoing. However, the construction of two big box culverts that will channel stormwater away from the road has been completed.

“Earthwork and drainage will start. I will, however, personally urge the contractor to ensure he finishes on record time.” It would be recalled that this is the exact manner the Prince of Iperu broke the 21-year jinx of reckless abandon of the Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos Road and commenced construction of the 70km road in August; what a fantastic thought leader of immeasurable value!

As it stands, we cannot obviously thank Governor Dapo Abiodun enough for changing the dynamics and scope of governance in Ogun State with utmost alacrity and with human face, all we can do is to continue to pray God for his mercy over him so as to continue to provide responsible leadership in Ogun State and the Southern Nigeria in general as the Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum.
Kudos Prince Dapo Abiodun!
Olaniyi Ajibola writes from Abeokuta